Nightmare's Reign
by John Sayers
Summary: Alex wakes up on the floor of a crumbling Waverly Sub Station. She walks outside and sees New York has been destroyed and she is all alone in the city. The world she remembers is gone and she has no idea what happened.
1. Chapter 1

**Nightmare's Reign**

**Chapter 1**

Alex Russo was lying on the floor of the Waverly Sub Station when she woke up. She sat up, her vision blurry, and grabbed her throbbing head. She had no idea how she ended up on the floor of her family's restaurant. She fell asleep in her own bed the night before. Now she was on the floor of the sub station, a very dirty floor. Her vision started to clear and what she saw horrified her. The sub station's walls had massive holes in them along with scorch marks. The wood in them rotting away. All the windows were broken and the doors to the street were knocked down. All over the floor there were pieces of the ceiling that had fallen down. The spiral staircase that led to her home was leaning drastically and could fall any minute. She stood up and walked towards the kitchen. The bar was gone, but the bar stools still stood in there place, the metal on them rusting. She went into the kitchen and it looked like someone dropped a bomb in there. The entire kitchen was ruined. She saw the freezer door was torn off its hinges and resting near the wall. She went into her family's wizard lair and inside there was not much better. The lair was trashed and the transport was destroyed, broken glass everywhere. She walked to the center of the room where the two couches and chair once were. She picked up the chair, which was rusted like the barstools, and she sat on it. She sat there in shock, no idea what happened.

What seemed like an eternity, Alex stood up again and walked to the wall where the Doctor had licked the wall on the first day they met him. The Doctor! Alex ran out of the lair to the area where the Doctor had placed his TARDIS. She didn't see it. There was no of the Doctor and no sign of her family. There was no sign of anyone actually. Alex glanced to where the subway car was, but there was nothing. She walked over there and saw that the car was torn off of the wall. She put her head down. What was happening? What _happened_? Why was she the only one here? She put her hand on the wall and felt something strange. She looked up and saw that her hand was one four deep gashes in the wall. They were claw marks. Four huge claw marks. How come she didn't see them when she got here? Probably because everything else was torn apart and there was no one here except for her. Where were they?

Alex walked away from the wall and decided there was nothing here. She stepped out onto Waverly Place. The street wasn't much better. There was debris everywhere and the building were barely standing. Her family's place was one of the lucky ones. She walked down Waverly Place towards one of the main city roads and she was horrified as the picture grew even more terrible. There was dried blood splattered across several building and on the street. The blood was old as if it had been there for a several years. She walked more and saw a newspaper. She picked it up and the date was June 18, 2012. That was nearly years in the future. The headline and picture had worn away, she could barely see the date. The paper looked old. What was going on!? She wanted answers, but all she got was more questions and more terrors.

She put the paper down on the ground and looked down. She jumped and fell to the ground. She got up and ran until she hit a building wall, causing ash and dust to fall on her. She cough and got the dust out of her face. She was staring at four skeletons. One of them was twisted in a way that no body should be twisted. The others were missing bones and looked like they had been eaten. She didn't want to move, but she knew she had to get answers so she forced herself to go on. There was no one in the city. It was completely dead.

She walked out in the closet street that runs throughout the whole city. Cars were crashed into buildings, thrown upside down, others were scorched and looked like they were blown up, more were crashed into each other. For the first time, Alex saw the sky. It was covered by dark clouds, only once in a great while the sun would break through. Nothing was the same. Nothing was like it was when Alex had gone to sleep at least two years ago. Alex continued to walk down the street. The last time she saw the city there were thousands, no millions of people on the street, but now there is no one. There is no a single person in sight. The city was deserted or dead. Alex saw several more skeletons. She jumped out of her skin several times as debris fell from the building onto the street below. She had to dodge a couple chunks of debris before they crashed on her head.

She walked for what to her felt like forever. There was nothing alive. No people, no animals, nothing. She felt her knees go weak. She was hungry and thirsty. She was starting to break down. She walked and found a convenience store to her right. She walked inside and saw that most of the food was rotten or even petrified. She saw a few packages of beef jerky that was still good. She took some and tore open the bag. She didn't care that it was stealing or was it even stealing, there was no one here. She was just so hungry and didn't think about it any more.

Before she took a bite, she realized that there was nothing here to drink. Even if she could get rid of her hungry, she would just get even more thirsty. She put the bag of beef jerk down and curled into a ball. She was so scared. What had happened to the city? She started to cry and couldn't stop.

"What happened? Where is everyone? Doctor, I need you. Where are you?" she said between sobs.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Alex cried for several more minutes before a small light appeared next to her and a gallon of water appeared next to her. She looked down at her right side and saw the gallon of water next to him. She looked around and said to herself, "How did this get here?"

She didn't care. It was there next to her and it looked new. She took the lid off and smelled it. It didn't smell bad. It just smelled like water. She took a drink and it didn't taste sour or bad. She was happy that she finally had something to drink. She picked up the bag of beef jerky she had set down next to her and she took a few pieces out and ate it.

After her jerky meal, Alex got up and looked around the store for something to put the rest of the beef jerky packages into. She found several jars of honey on one of the aisles and grabbed one of them. She unscrewed the lid and put her fingers into the jar and ate some of it. She screwed the lid back on after she licked her fingers clean. She smiled just a bit and said, "Beef jerky and honey, what a meal."  
She finally found a plastic bag in one of the cabinets behind the cashier's area. She stuff it full of beef jerky packages and a couple jars of honey. She put it down next to her gallon of water and she walked towards the door. She stood in the doorway looking up at the gray sky. She could hear thunder off in the distance to the east. A storm was coming. That's all she needed. A thunderstorm to rain on her already train wreck of a parade. She didn't understand how she ended up in a destroyed and empty New York City, and not to mention several years in the future.

One question was eating away at her. Where was the Doctor? Surely he could have stopped this from happening if he wanted to. She only knew him about two months, but he was incredibly talent and unbelievably resourceful. He really could have stopped this without that much trouble at all. He save the city twice before. Probably even more times than that, but those were the only two times she knew he was directly responsible for the cities salvation. He was amazing. She did not want to imagine how life would be like if he never crashed his ship in front of her family's sub station. That same day she met him, the entire city went into chaos. Monsters called Hoixes and other creatures called Oods. An organization called UNIT. The Doctor himself wasn't even human, but he looked human. Then again she looked Time Lord to the Doctor. Before the fight between UNIT, Hoixes and Oods, the Doctor told her something she would never forget. She could tell just by looking at him that it hurt him to tell her. All the memories flooding back into his head. She remembered thinking that whenever someone or something terrible happened to her, it was the end of the world.

She couldn't tell the Doctor that he had no idea what it was like to feel as if the world was ending because for the Doctor it did. She felt tears coming to her eyes as she remembered the Doctor's face, full of sadness and sorrow, telling her about his people. That he was the last of his kind. He was the last of the Time Lords. That his world was dead and gone. That his world truly ended. Now she thought she was just like the Doctor. She was all alone in the world. That's what it appeared to be anyway. There was no one in sight. The city was abandoned and empty. She wondered if this was how the Doctor felt. It was the worst feeling she's ever had. Pure loneliness. Not knowing if there was another living person on the planet. Not knowing if you were even alive. She felt alive, but the more she thought about it, the more she felt a part of her die inside. This had only been a few hours. The Doctor had been like this for over 1000 years, but he seemed to get through it. She thought that if he could get through it, she could get through it.

The Doctor had taught her how to handle some situations, but nothing on this scale. The Doctor as a teacher was something she liked. She wasn't good with teachers, but with him, she didn't mind it. She knew he was like her when he was young all those centuries ago. He told her about some of his past. She knew that he was on the run from his people because he ignored their laws and did his own thing. He was even put on trial several times because of it. She guessed that he even stole his ship, the TARDIS, and she was right. He did steal his ship, but the TARDIS didn't care. They shared a connection that she would never understand. They needed each other. They were so close that they were practically the same person. She thought to herself that sometimes she gets kind of jealous of the TARDIS, but she can't stay that way for long. The TARDIS herself liked Alex. Other stories the Doctor told of his life were entertaining, but she soon found out never to ask about the Daleks. The Daleks were one race of beings the Doctor, a pacifist at heart, would kill without a second glance. She could see the hatred that the Doctor had for the Daleks. His eyes would change from kind and caring to cold, callous balls of pure hate and rage. She didn't like to talk about the Daleks with the Doctor. Other than that he was happy to tell his stories to her.

She had learned a lot from the Doctor in the short time she knew him. He had taken over teaching her her wizard training. She loved doing it with him. Inside the TARDIS, there are several rooms that reminded her of the hologram rooms in the shows her brother, Justin, used to watch. Oh Justin, she thought. Where was the rest of her family? She was too confused and scared to even think about that. They were all gone like everyone else. What happened here in this city? Her mind raced back to that question. She heard a little voice in the back of her head tell her that she would find out the answers and soon. She was comforted by that thought. She wanted to start thinking about the Doctor because when she did, she wasn't concerned or worried about what had happened. She slipped into a state of happiness that she wanted to get back.

She was snapped out of her racing thoughts when cold water splashed on her face. The thunder blasted across the store. She moved away from the door and sat as far as she could away from the doors and windows. She took her bag of food and gallon of water with her.

"Why does it always have to rain when the world ends?" asked Alex. Alex could have sworn her a voice tell her it was because the Earth was crying in pain and anguish. That was something the Doctor would tell her. She smiled as she curled in a ball to stay warm. Maybe the Doctor was still with her, even if he wasn't physically there. He was alive in her thoughts and she was happy. Alex dusted and moved some of the debris off the floor and made a small area to sleep. She didn't have a pillow or blanket, but she would make do. She was determined. Her last thoughts before fading off were of the Doctor and what he would do in a situation like this. A few minutes later, Alex fell asleep as the storm outside continued to rage on.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Alex woke up the next morning with the sun shining down into the store. The storm had passed and the sun was shining down on New York City, or at least what remained of the city. Alex sat up and held her head in her hands. She stood up and stretched out. Her body was sore from sleeping on the floor all night. She walked down to the store's door and looked outside. It was brighter and more clear than yesterday. She walked back to her stuff and picked it up. She walked out into the street and continued on her way.

The city was still as lifeless as it had been the day before, but the city seemed less ominous with the sun out beaming down on the streets instead of dark clouds and a thunderstorm. She walked down the street in the hope of finding anyone who could tell her what was going on or what happened. She had so many questions, but there was no one there to answer her. The biggest source of answers she had wasn't here with her, the Doctor.

The Doctor had told her that the human race would survive to the end of the Universe itself, but by the way the city looks and probably the whole world, that idea was just a story to her now. She didn't see anyone or anything. All the plants she saw were the only living things and those were few and far between. The city was practically lifeless. No the city was lifeless. She would find out why no matter what.

She walked farther down the street and saw the wreckage of several tanks and other military vehicles. Hundreds of skeletons were laying across the entire battlefield she stumbled onto. She was sick to her stomach, but at least the city put up a fight before whatever happened here. She wanted to leave that area as soon as possible. She ran awkwardly with both hand full, but she ran none the less. All she cared about was leaving the battle arena she just saw.

Alex sat down after she ran for a mile. She was out of breath and needed to drink. As she took a drink of the water, she saw a massive symbol on the side of it. It was a symbol she didn't recognize. She didn't have time to think about it. She put the lid back on the water and she stood up to continue on her way. She was a couple dozen miles from her home or what was left of her home. She wasn't going to back there. It would bring too many bad thoughts of how her family must have died.

She walked for another hour. Her body ached and her mind was racing. She couldn't walk anymore. She had to find a place to stay for a while and rest. She found another store that she could stay in for a while. She was tired and in pain. The thought of her being alone in what used to be one of the busiest and largest cities in the whole world was eating into her mind. She would eventually go crazy if she wasn't able to find anything. Just a small animal would be nice, but she would rather find a person to talk to so she wouldn't talk to herself all the time now. She felt tears coming again to her eyes. She wasn't even thinking about crying, but the loneliness was already establishing a foothold in her soul. She didn't want this happen to her.

Just two days ago, well just two days ago in her world, she was laughing and talking to her friends and family and the Doctor. She was helping the Doctor with fixing his TARDIS and the Doctor was teaching her to use her magic or as he called it "Time Energy" or "Creation Energy". She didn't really care what it was called at the moment, but she couldn't help, but think of the past because the future was pretty bleak for her at the moment. She just wanted it all to end. It was terrible. She just allowed the tears to flow down her face.

After a while, Alex dozed off and was jarred awake when she heard the sound of stuff crashing in another part of the store. She slowly stood up and walked towards the noise, crouching in case it was some kind of animal. She stopped when she what caused the noise. It was a person. She thanked God that there was a person here, but after a few seconds, Alex saw that this person was just a kid. He was about the same age as Alex. He was searching for food. She could tell that much. He turned around and she saw a gun at his side and not just a small one. It was an assault rifle. She held her breath not wanting to startle the kid with the thing that could blow her head off.

She started to move back to her place when another noise crashed on the store's roof. The kid stopped what he was doing and pointed his gun at the ceiling. Cracks and streams of light seeped into the store and with a deafening crash the ceiling fell in and Alex dove back to her area and the kid fired his gun until he fell over. Alex got up, covered in dust, and sat down next to her stuff. The debris from the ceiling moved and a large black creature rose up. It jumped and the boy and before he could fire any shots, the monster had the kid in its jaws and crushed down. Alex wanted to cry as she saw the boy be eaten right in front of her.

The monster looked like a giant pit bull, but pure black. It was the size of a rhino and its eyes were white and had no pupils. Alex cringed as she saw blood stained on the teeth and dripping off the creature's jaw. The animal was emaciated because of the lack of prey in the city.

The creature turned to leave until it caught the scent of something else. Alex froze and looked down at her arms and saw she was bleeding. The creature smelled her and she was petrified. It smell her and was coming to eat her like it did the boy. Her life was about to be over in on the most horrible ways possible, being eaten alive. That thought alone made her want to throw up but her stomach was empty.

The animal crouched ready to pounce until something else caught its attention. It looked out the windows of the store and snarled. Just as it snarled, bullets tore through the store and ripped in the monster and within seconds the creature was dead. Alex sat there and was too afraid to move. Half a dozen people ran into the store with empty duffel bags and knives. They wore face paint to hide in the city camouflaged. She could have sworn that one of them looked like her brother Justin.

They six of them started to cut out chunks of meat from the creature and stuff there bags full of the bloody meat. She didn't want to move because she didn't know if they would kill her. She moved her arm and something fell over. All six of the men pointed their guns at her as well as flashlights.

"Oh my God," said one of the hunters, "It's a person. Come on it's okay."

Alex didn't want to move, but she the desire to see people overtook the previous urge. She stood up and walked out from behind the display. All of them put their guns down.

"Hey what's your name?" asked one of them, "I'm Paul, Paul Scypher"

"Alex," Alex said, "Alex Russo."

One of the ones from the back raised his gun and pointed it at her.

"Hey, what are you doing man," said Paul.

"She's lying. I know for a fact that she can't be who says she is," the man replied.

When he spoke, she knew for a fact the man was her older brother Justin.

"Justin?" asked Alex, crying, "What are you doing?"  
"About to kill you," replied Justin.

"Why? You're my brother, Justin Russo."

"I'm Alex Russo's brother not yours," said Justin.

"What are you talking about?" asked Alex.

"My sister, Alex Russo, died four years ago," said Justin as he cocked his gun ready to fire, "Now. Who are _you_!?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

"But I am Alex Russo. I am you little sister," said Alex.

"Justin she's just a teenager," said Paul, "Are you just going to kill a kid. Justin you know there aren't much of us left. Are group is the largest one in the city and it's only around 40 people. We can't just go around killing every human we meet."

Alex was crying and couldn't say anything. She finally found people and her brother was with them and all he wanted to was to shoot her dead.

"Justin listen to me," pleaded Paul, "We can discuss this when we get back to camp. Then we will decide the matter."  
"But," said Justin.

"NO! buts. I am the leader of this hunt. We are going to get as much as we can. Then after that we can determine whether she is or is not you younger sister. Okay?"

"Yes sir," said Justin lowering his rifle.

"Good," said Paul. He turned to Alex and said, "If you have anything, you might want to bring it."

Alex nodded and grabbed her stuff and was with the group of six hunters. The seven of them walked for about an hour before they reached a mansion. There were armed guards at the fence and at the doors. The seven of them walked into the house and a couple of the hunters put the meat in a fridge that was running on an emergency generator. She saw all the faces of the people. She wondered what year it was. Two years according to the newspaper and another four years according to her brother. How far in the future was she and how did she die?

"Where are you Doctor?" asked Alex.

"Where's who?" asked Paul.

"The Doctor," said Alex, "If he was here, none of this would have happened. He would have stopped all this or at least tried to. Only getting killed would have stopped him."  
"Maybe he is dead," snapped Justin.

Justin and Alex both walked outside into the courtyard and Paul went another direction.

"You said I was dead. What about the rest of our family?" asked Alex.

Justin believed that the Alex beside him was not his sister, but for some reason he trusted her. So he told her, "You and Max both died a few years ago. First you then Max. Mom, Dad and I survived. We're all here."

"Can I go see them?" asked Alex.

"How old are you?" asked Justin.

"Seventeen," said Alex.

"Really?" asked Justin, "The Alex that fought and died was 24 years old. I look at you and you seem out of place. It's like you don't belong here."  
"I could've told you that," said Alex, "Two days ago I was with you and the rest of our family. The Doctor was with us."

"Who's the Doctor?" asked Justin.

"Just someone I knew," said Alex.

"He was more than just someone," said Justin, "You like him. You like him a lot."  
Alex didn't answer because she knew that Justin was right.

"Oh man, you more that like him. You love him," said Justin as if he was the brother that Alex had left behind.

"What?" she asked floored. She never thought of that, and now that she was thinking of that, she liked the idea.

"You do don't you?" asked Justin.

Before Alex could answer a little girl ran up to Justin and said, "Daddy! You're home."  
"Jessica," said Justin as he picked up the girl, "I am home."

"Justin who's this?" asked Alex.  
"This is my daughter Jessica," said Justin, "She's seven years old."

"Daddy who's this?" asked the little girl.

"This is someone from Daddy's past. He needs to talk to her for a minute. Why don't you go find someone to play with," said Justin.  
"Okay," Jessica said as Justin put her down.

When Jessica was out of earshot, Alex asked, "You have a daughter?"  
"Two actually," said Justin, "Jessica's the older one. My other one is three years old. Her name is Alex. Named after her aunt who died a hero."

Alex felt honored and sad that she died or was going to die just seven years from now. But if she knew the Doctor, and she did, he would not let that happen. Also by the way Justin didn't know who the Doctor was, that probably meant that the Doctor never showed up in this reality. Reality! Of course that was it! She was in an alternate reality. She had to be, but a voice in the back of her head told her that this was no alternate reality, but this was something else.

"I died a hero?" asked Alex.

"Yes you did," replied Justin.

"That's nice," said Alex. She perked up and asked Justin, "So who's your wife?"  
Justin smirked and said, "She's over there."  
Alex turned and saw who he was talking about. She whirled around and said, "No."

"Yes."  
"You married Harper?" asked Alex.

"Well the world did end and the choices were limited," smiled Justin.

Alex smacked him and said, "That's not nice."

"I was just kidding," said Justin, "When did you start caring about being nice?"

"When I met the Doctor," said Alex.

"Whoever this Doctor man is, he sure has made an impression on you. A good one at that. He must be some incredible man."

"You have no idea, Justin. You have no idea," smiled Alex as she thought of the Doctor.

"We are expecting our third child," said Justin, "I hope it's a boy."

"A third? Well the world is practically empty," said Alex, "What year is it?"

"2022," said Justin.

"What happened here?" asked Alex.

"You don't know?" asked Justin.

"No I don't know. That's why I am asking it," said Alex.

"I'll tell you after you reintroduce yourself to your family," said Justin.

"I thought you thought I was an impostor," said Alex.

"I was high on adrenaline, but now after a clear head I can see that you are just a scared girl who is out of her own time and place."

"The Rift," said Alex.

"The what?" asked Justin.

"I'll tell you later when you tell me what happened," said Alex.

"Okay," said Justin, "Let's go."

Justin walked over to Harper who was on the other side of the courtyard. Harper was five months pregnant with her third child. She smiled as she saw Justin. She started to stand up out of her chair. Justin told her she didn't have to get up, but she did anyway. The two of them kissed and Justin told Harper that there was someone here that she should meet.

"Who?" asked Harper.

"We found her during the hunt. I can't explain it, but it's her. I believe it's her, but she's still a teenager," said Justin.

"Who?" asked Harper.

Justin stepped aside and Alex stood behind him. Her hair was matted and had dust and debris in it. Her arms had scrapes all over them with dried blood. Harper couldn't believe her own eyes. She knew it was impossible, but she couldn't deny what was right in front of her face. Alex was there alive and well and a teenager.

"What's going on?" asked Harper.

"I have no idea. One day I'm asleep in 2010 and the next I wake up on the floor of the remains of the sub station 12 years later. I would really like to know what's going on," said Alex,  
"I mean you two were never a couple, although ever since he showed up you two did start to get close. I saw it for the first time when the Racnoss attacked."

"Racnoss?" asked Justin.

"Evil spider people," said Alex, "Leave it at that."  
"Who is this 'he'?" asked Harper.

"The Doctor," said Alex with that smile on her face.

"You must really like this Doctor," said Harper, "What's his name?"

"It's just the Doctor. It's simply the Doctor," Alex answered Harper.

"Okay," said Justin, "Let's go see Mom and Dad shall we."

"Yes we shall," said Alex.

"The teenage Alex I remember was mean and spiteful, but she is a nicer Alex," Harper whispered to Justin.

"I don't know who he is, but the Doctor she talks about must have done her some good. She just seems happier than our Alex did."

"What do you mean 'our' Alex?" asked Harper.

"She's not in her right time and the little she's told me, she is not in her own reality. She is probably from an alternate reality and one that probably behind ours," said Justin.

"How will she get back home?" asked Harper.

"I have no idea," said Justin, "Until then, let's treat her like this is home."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The blonde woman walked over the debris of collapsed buildings. She wore black shoes and pants. A green shirt with a black trench coat over it. Her hair reached down passed her shoulders. She looked over the desolate city and saw all the death and destruction and carnage the city went through. She shook her head as she saw the same massive symbol as Alex had.

She walked down the same way Alex did and found the remains of the chopped up monster that had killed the boy and nearly killed Alex before the hunting party killed it. The woman stopped and stared at the scene.

From the building across the street, another creature was hiding in the dark of the building. It was burning with hunger and drool was dripping from it long teeth. It crept slowly, hunting the blonde, and then charged. The creature jumped, but crashed into the ground. It struggled to get up, but failed.

The blonde woman turned around and walked within a few feet of the animal's snarling jaws. Its white eyes squinting out of anger. The woman smiled and said, "Bad doggy. Very, very bad." She raised her hand up within inches of the creature's teeth and her eyes started to glow.

The cries of the dying creature echoed throughout the remains of the once great New York City.

Justin and Harper led the way to where Jerry and Theresa were. Alex walked behind them. She was still trying to accept that she was thrown twelve years into the future and that the world she knew was over. To add to that, she really wanted to take a shower.

"Mom, Dad," said Justin as he enter their section of the mansion. Harper went to a chair and sat down.

"Justin, you're back. How did it go?" asked Jerry.

"The hunt went great. We got some meat," said Justin, "But we did find something, or should I say someone. Someone I thought we'd never see again."

"Who?" asked Jerry.

Justin moved out of the way and Jerry and Theresa saw Alex standing there. She gave a little smile. Her parents didn't move or speak for what felt like forever.

The awkwardness was broken when Theresa asked, "Is it really you? How can it be you?"

"Yes it is," said Alex, "It's really me."

"How?" Jerry piped up, "You died four years ago. I saw you and Max die."

"Yeah, I heard that I was dead," said Alex.

"You look younger than we remember you," said Theresa.

"I'm only seventeen years old," replied Alex, "About two days ago, I was sitting in our place back on Waverly Place. All of us were alive and happy. Justin, Harper, Max and me were still teenagers. Justin was getting ready to go to college. You two still managed the sub station. I was actually taking my wizard studies seriously for the first time, mainly because of the Doctor."

"Who's the Doctor?" asked Jerry.

"Someone from my world," said Alex, "And the way this place looks, I don't think he showed up because if I know him, and I do, he would have done everything in his power to stop this from happening."

"I doubt it," said Justin, "Not even the wizards world could stop this from happening. It held out longer than the mortal world, but they fell anyway."

"The Doctor could have stopped all of this," said Alex, "He has the power and so does the TARDIS."

"TARDIS? What's that?" asked Theresa.

"Time and relative dimensions in space. It's the Doctor's spaceship. She really liked me. She liked me ever since I stepped inside her."

"Her?" asked Justin.

"The TARDIS is a living ship. She's bigger on the inside. I mean a lot bigger on the inside. It was the size of a phone booth on the outside and the size of a castle on the inside," Alex went on.

"Wait a minute. Did you say spaceship? The Doctor's an alien?" asked Justin.

"Yes, he is. He's from a group of people called Time Lords. They look just like us. No, actually, we look like them. They were around first," said Alex, "I'll tell you the rest later. What happened here to this world?"

"We don't know," said Theresa, "One day we're going on with life as normal and then the next day, everything changes. These creatures with huge teeth and heads start attacking the city. A massive explosion created a giant crater."

"The Hoixes," said Alex.

"What?" asked Justin.

"Nothing. Go on," said Alex.

"After that they all vanished," Jerry picked up where Theresa left off, "Then these things came through. I have no idea what they were. Then more and more different creatures kept coming through and eventually the city started to die. Battle after battle after battle between humans and anything that appeared out of nowhere. I still don't know where they came from."

"The Rift," said Alex.

"What Rift?" Harper finally said something.

"A Time Rift. It's a tear in reality where anything can get through from anytime and anyplace," continued Alex.

"I can't believe it. Alex, what happened. You actually know quite a bit," said Justin.

"It's the Doctor," said Alex, "He saved my life and not to mention he saved the city from the Hoix invasion and he stabilized the Rift which stopped the other things that you said came through. By the way what was that thing you hunted?"

"We don't know. They're some kind of canine animal, a very large canine animal," said Justin.

"And very aggressive," said Jerry.

"Was that boy one of your group?" asked Alex.

"Boy?" asked Justin, "There wasn't a boy in our group."

"There was a boy that gotten eaten by the one you killed," said Alex, "I saw it happen."

"That's terrible," said Harper.

"I know," said Alex.

The blonde woman made her way to the mansion where Alex was reuniting with her family. She walked for miles and hours, but didn't need a break or to rest. She just kept walking. She had killed the animal that hunted her. She was stopped at the gate by the armed guards.

"Who are you?" asked one of the guards.

"That is none of your concern," the blonde said with an English accent.

"I believe it is," said another guard.

"No it's not," said the blonde. The guards raised their weapons and were ready to shoot. The woman raised her hands and put them down. All the guards fell asleep and collapsed. "Sleep little babies, sleep."

She continued on her way, making the guards at the door fall asleep too. She stepped through the door and walked into the kitchen. That's where she saw it. It's decaying body. It snarled at her and charged. She raised her hand, but the creature didn't stop. It smacked right into her and both of them vanished in blinding flash of light. All the guards who fell asleep woke up and went back to their posts. None of them remembered what happened.


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

"DOCTOR!"

The Doctor jumped out of his skin and dropped the tray full of equipment he was carrying to one of the booths in the Waverly Sub Station.

"Gah, what was that all about?" asked the Doctor.

"Don't ask me," said Harper, "I'm down here with you."  
"Doctor!" yelled Theresa as she ran down the spiral stairs.

"Theresa what is it?" asked the Doctor.

"It's Alex. There's something wrong with Alex," said Theresa.

"What?" asked the Doctor as he bolted up and ran upstairs followed by Theresa and Harper.

***

Alex was in the shower for the first time in several days when she heard the noise come from the kitchen. She didn't think anything of it and continued on integrating with her with her new old family. She got out of the shower and was getting dressed when everything stopped. Everything but her. Her mind flashed bright white and she was in complete nothingness. There was only white everywhere. No up or down or side to side. Nothing at all. She closed her eyes and when she opened them, everything was there again, like it was before.

"Alex," a voice whispered to her.

Alex looked around for anyone who could have said that.

"Alex," the voice came back.

"What? Where are you?" she asked, "Who's calling me?"

She stuck her head out of the bathroom. There was no one in the hallway.

"What's going on?" she asked herself.

***

The blonde woman fought of the decaying creature. When she fought him off, everything went white. Nothing was there. No direction at all. There was nothing. She looked to her left and she saw a scared little Alex in the void of pure nothing. Then as quick as it appeared the nothing vanished and everything returned to way it had been.

"Hold on, Alex, hold on," she said.

"Alex," the blonde heard the same voice as Alex did.

"There we go. Find her. Find her," said the blonde.

"Alex," the voice said again.

***

The decaying creature got up from where he was thrown down by the woman he fought. She was strong for just a mere humanoid. Too strong for any humanoid creature. He had to get rid of her because she was not part of its design. She was something new. If she could get in, then other things could get in. Nothing was supposed to get in at all. He had to get rid of the blonde woman.

***

"Alex!" the Doctor said loudly over her sleeping body. She was out cold on her bed in her room. Theresa and Jerry had been trying to wake her for over half an hour with no success.

"Doctor, what is it?" asked Jerry, "What's wrong with her?"

"I don't know," said the Doctor, "I need to get her out of here." The Doctor picked up Alex out of her bed and carefully carried her downstairs to the loft. He set her down on the couch and put a pillow underneath her head.

"How long do you think she's been like this?" asked Harper.

"Ever since she fell asleep," said the Doctor. He took out his sonic screwdriver and waved it above Alex's head and eyes, "Nothing."

"What do you mean?" asked Jerry.

"Her physical body is still here, but it's like her mind is gone. Gone somewhere that I can't track."

"What do you mean that her mind's not there. It has to be there," said Justin.

"Believe me, no it doesn't," said the Doctor, "The mind is the consciousness. It's energy and that means, with the right technology, can be transported. But that is not what's happening here. Her minds still there, but it's hidden. I've never seen anything like it."

"Can you help her?" asked Theresa.

The Doctor didn't answer at first and then looked at everyone and said, "Yeah, I can." His face, however, was unsure. The Doctor leaned over Alex and he said her name again, a little bit louder.

***

Alex was dressed and on her way to eat with the rest of her family. Then all of the sudden her head started throbbing and her world spinning. She closed her eyes and held her head in her hands. After a few seconds, her head stopped hurting and she opened her eyes and screamed at what was inches away from her face. There was a decaying face staring back at her. She could see the flesh falling off of the its jaw. Its eyes were glazed over and it's eyes were gray. She closed her eyes again and opened them and it was gone. "What was that?"

Justin ran into the hallway and saw Alex sitting in a ball next to the wall.

"Alex, what's wrong?" asked Justin.

"I don't know," she said, "I really don't know anything that's going on."

"What do you mean?" asked Justin.

"It doesn't matter," said Alex, "Let's just go eat."  
"That's sounds good, let's go," replied Justin.

***

"GAH!" screamed the Doctor.

"What is it?" asked Theresa.

"I have no idea! That's the problem," snapped the Doctor, running his hand through his hair, "She's not asleep. That I'm sure of."

"Then why won't she wake up," said Jerry.

"Because she's already awake, but not on this level of consciousness. She's on some other level," said the Doctor, "I've got to get in there."

"What do you mean get in there?" asked Justin.

"I can put my mind into hers and therefore I can be where she is," explained the Doctor, "And my mind is stronger than hers. If there is something in there altering her mind, I'll be able to fight it off if it enters my mind."

"But what is it?" asked Harper.

"I haven't got a clue. That's why I'm going in there," answered the Doctor.

"How?" asked Jerry.

The Doctor didn't answer him and ran around the arm of the couch where Alex's head was. "She's in there and I'm going to find her. I promise you."

"Doctor," said Jerry.

"What?"  
"Be careful," replied Jerry.

"I will be careful. I'm always careful," said the Doctor.

"That is negative, Master. You are never always careful," chimed K-9.

"Oh shut up, K-9," said the Doctor.

"Have you always been there?" asked Harper.

"Affirmative," said K-9.

The Doctor put his hands on the side of Alex's head, "I'll be careful. I promise you."  
"Good luck," said Theresa.

"Thank you," said the Doctor. He laid his forehead down on her forehead. His mind fell through what was like a vortex and all went black for the Doctor.


	7. Chapter 7

The Doctor woke up lying in the ashes of a burnt building. He coughed and sent dust and ashes flying away from his face. His entire body was sore as he forced himself off the ground. Entering other peoples minds was easy, but this time it was unusually hard. It was like something was trying to block him from entering Alex's mind.

The night sky was creepy. That alone made the Doctor nervous. He found nothing creepy at all. He smelled the air and gagged on the scent of decaying flesh. "What is that?" he asked.

***

The decaying creature saw the Doctor fall into Alex's mind and snarled. Its design was falling apart before its very eyes. Who is the blonde woman? What is a Time Lord doing in the mind of a young female on a backwater planet? A Time Lord of all things. The creature looked up at the sky and held its arm up straight to the sky and waved its finger around. It smirked before vanishing in smoke.

***

A cold chill ran down the Doctor's spine. He could have sworn he saw some kind of creature vanish into smoke. Clouds appeared in the sky and lightening bolts struck the ground all over the city. Thunder blasted across the whole area. The Doctor ran to get cover, but as soon as he moved, lightening struck him and everything went white.

***

"There's a storm out there," said Jerry looking up at the dead sky.

"It came out of nowhere," said Justin.

Alex gasped and jumped. A chill ran down her spine.

"Alex, what's wrong?" asked Theresa.

"I don't know," Alex replied, "I just got a really bad chill."

"The Last Child of Gallifrey has come," a woman's voice echoed throughout the room.

"What was that?" asked Harper.

"It wasn't me," said Theresa.

"Who's the Last Child of Gallifrey?" asked Justin.

"He's here. He's here! HE'S HERE!" exclaimed Alex with unrestrained happiness.

"Who?" asked Jerry.

"The Doctor."

***

The Doctor woke up and his vision was incredibly blurry. After a few minutes, his vision cleared. The Doctor was chained in an the form of an X. He shook his head. It happened to him again. He looked up and jerked at what he saw. It was a decaying humanoid creature. He could see the heart beating underneath its dusty old skin. The creature was sitting on a crate staring at him. It was smiling as it watched the Doctor stare at it.

In less than a second, the creature was off the crate and then inches from the Doctor's face. It snarled and snapped at him. The Doctor didn't flinch. He just held his ground. The creature rubbed its half decayed hand on the Doctor's cheek, "You don't fear me?"

"No, I don't," the Doctor said sternly.

"You are a Time Lord, are you not?" it asked.

"Yes, I am. What are you?"

"Nightmare Weam," the creature replied.

"A Nightmare Weam? I've never even heard of them," said the Doctor.

"We once served the Great Beast before the Disciples of the Light rose up against him," it said.

"And chained him in the Pit for all eternity," finished the Doctor.

"What!? How do you now of such things?" the Weam asked.

"I saw the Beast face to face and I beat him," said the Doctor, "I beat him."

It snarled and moved back faster than lightening. "You are different. You seem bright. There is a light surrounding you."

"What do you mean?" asked the Doctor.

"It hurts," the Weam said before vanishing.

***

"So the Doctor's here?" asked Jerry.

"Yes, he is. He's the Last Child of Gallifrey," replied Alex.

"What's Gallifrey? And why is he called the Last Child?" asked Justin.

"Gallifrey was the Doctor's home planet and he's called the Last Child because he's the last of his kind. He's not just a Time Lord, he is the last of the Time Lords. All of his people were killed in what he calls the Last Great Time War."

"What's that?" asked Harper.

"I'm not really sure. He doesn't like to talk about the War," said Alex.

"But who was the woman's who said that? That was creepy," said Harper.

"I don't know. I don't know what's going on anymore," said Alex.

***

The Doctor was hurting by the chains when the Weam returned.

"Back for more?" mocked the Doctor.

"Shut your mouth Time Lord. I've seen inside your mind and know what you're scared of the most."

"What?" snapped the Doctor arrogantly.

"This," said the Weam as it moved out of the way to reveal what it was talking about.

The Doctor's arrogance vanished and was replaced with fear. "What are you? INSANE! You can't bring it back. You'll kill yourself. It can't be controlled. It'll kill everything."

"No it won't. This land is my sand box. I can make what ever I want and they will obey me."

"But those things didn't even listen to their creator," the Doctor was struggling but to no avail.

The creature was between five and six feet tall. It looked like a golden salt shaker. It had an eyestalk on its head. Two lights were in the area where antennas would be. One arm looked like a plunger and the other and egg beater. "I obey, Mas-ter." When it spoke, its light lit up brightly.

"Good, my pet," said the Weam, "Dalek."

The Doctor started breathing heavily out of anxiety.

"Go to the mansion where the Russo girl is living and exterminate everyone. Oh and take a couple of friends." The Weam snapped its fingers and two more Daleks appeared.

"We obey," the Lead Dalek replied. The three Daleks left.

"Are you insane!?" the Doctor snapped.

"No, just darkness."

"That's obvious," said the Doctor, "You look worse than a zombie."

***

The blonde woman walked back to the mansion. She had told Alex and the others that the Doctor had come. She was keeping an eye out for both the Doctor and the Nightmare Weam. She stopped cold and her blood froze as she saw the three creatures. The Daleks were heading the same way as she was.

"What!? How did they get here?" she said as she picked up the pace, "Now matter how many weapons they have, they won't stand a chance."

***

"The sky looks worse than normal," said Theresa, "There is only lightening and thunder, but no rain."

Justin and Harper's two daughters had been dropped off at the Russo's area of the mansion a few minutes ago. Alex was just staring out the window waiting for the Doctor to come for her. She thought she saw a blonde woman running towards the mansion, but she just dismissed it as nothing. She moved her head down towards the mansion's gate and fence. That's when she saw the three creatures that looked light giant salt shakers. The guards raised their guns and opened fire, but the creatures were unharmed. The creatures shot green beams at the guards. Alex gasped as the guards skeleton could be seen as black and the rest of the body was green.

"What was that?" asked Justin, as he grabbed for his guns, "Alex, did you see what the guards were firing at."

"Yes, I did, but the guards' weapons didn't work. The guards were shot down," said Alex. The sound of gun fire erupted through the building. Screams and cries echoed throughout the mansion.

"Justin don't go," Harper grabbed his arm as he tried to leave.

"Harper, I have to go," said Justin, "I can't abandon my friends."

"Justin," said Alex, "You won't stand a chance."

"I know, but I can slow them down while you try to get out," said Justin, worry written all over his face. He walked over to Alex and kissed her on the forehead, "I never said this when you died, but I love you Alex."

"Justin, don't go," Alex was crying.

"Justin, listen to her," said Harper.

"Harper, oh Harper, I take care of our children," Justin said before kissing Harper goodbye, "I love you."  
"I love you too," said Harper.

Justin walked out of the room after telling his children and parents goodbye. His gun was ready and pointed down the hallway. Jerry walked up and crouched next to Justin.

"Dad, what are you doing here?" asked Justin.

Jerry readied a gun he had gotten, "I'm not letting my other son die by himself. I'm going to stand by you."

Justin didn't argue and just agreed.

The doors to the hallway blasted off and crashed into the doors across the hallway. A Dalek rolled into the hallway and stared Justin and Jerry down. It rolled towards the two.

"Well, Dad, here we go," said Justin, "One, two, three, fire!"

Justin and Jerry opened fire on the Dalek. Both of their magazines emptied and the Dalek was still unharmed. It raised its eggbeater arm and said, "Vi-o-lence will not be tol-er-ated. You will be ex-ter-minated. Ex-ter-mi-nate. Ex-ter-mi-nate. EX-TER-MI-NATE!"

The eggbeater arm fired a stream of green light and then another blast.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

The beams of green energy stopped with a few feet of Justin and Jerry. The Dalek stopped and didn't move again. Justin stood up and poked the beam and screamed in pain.

"Justin, what's wrong?" asked Jerry, jumping up.

"I can't feel my hand. It's all numb," said Justin.

"Justin!" said Jerry urgently.

"What?" asked Justin.

"Look over there," said Jerry.

Justin looked at the Dalek. There was a white light coming from behind the Dalek. The creature started to turn to dust from the top and bottom before vanishing all together. The light receded and the blonde woman was standing there with her arm extended towards where the Dalek was. Her eyes were glowing and her hair was flying all over the place. She put her hand down and her hair went to normal. Her glowing eyes disappeared and strong green eyes took their place.

"Who are you?" asked Justin, raising his gun.

"That is non of you concern right now and besides you're out of ammo, remember?" said the blonde woman in her British accent.

"Oh yeah," said Justin, lowering his gun.

The blonde walked over to the two men standing, holding their guns. "Well are we going inside and get back with the rest of the family?"

"Okay," said Jerry, not really sure why he was listening to the blonde.

"Great, let's go," she said as she walked towards the room.

***

The door to room flew open and Alex jumped, while Theresa and Harper screamed. The blonde woman walked into the room followed by Jerry and Justin.

"What did you do?" asked Justin.

"Saved your lives, that's what I did," said the woman.

"And thank you for that," said Jerry.

"You're the voice," said Alex.

"What?" asked Harper.

"The Last Child of Gallifrey has come," said the woman.

"Oh my God, it is you," said Theresa.

"Who are you?" asked Alex.

"My name is not important right now," the woman replied, "All that matters is that the Doctor needs to find you. He is your link out of this nightmare."

"What do you mean?" asked Alex.

The blonde woman's eyes glowed and then the entire world froze. Justin, Harper, her parents and her nieces all froze, but Alex didn't freeze at all.

"What did you do?" asked Alex.

"I'm showing you the truth, Alex Russo," said the woman.

***

"WHO IS SHE!" the Weam hissed, "She destroyed my Daleks without even getting a scratch or raising a sweat. I want to know who that is! Who is she?"

"Who is who?" asked the Doctor.

"None of your concern, Time Lord," the Weam hissed at him angrily, "That blonde woman has to go."

"What?" the Doctor muttered to himself, "What blonde woman?"

The Weam hated that woman and it was going to find some way to kill her or at least get rid of her. He tried to kill her, but that didn't work. She was too powerful. More powerful than the Time Lord in his custody. The Weam saw that the woman had a light around her just like the Doctor, but her light was painful and a lot brighter than the Time Lord's glow. The Weam was scared of her. It hated that thought, but what if she was a Disciple of the Light, an angel to protect the girl, Alex Russo, from the Weam's deadly grip.

The Doctor felt the chains tighten and he groaned in pain. It was just his mind, but he could have sworn it was all real. This was the most real he has ever been in anyone's mind and that was saying something. He had no idea what to do. Usually his mind would be strong enough to get rid of the chains, but this Nightmare Weam, as it called itself, was more powerful than he had ever anticipated. That was not surprising considering it was an agent of the Beast, the most powerful force of evil and darkness in all of Creation.

The Doctor faced the Beast and beat it, but he wasn't even sure if he killed it. He sent the Beast falling into a black hole and still wasn't sure if the Beast was killed. The Beast was had called itself Satan. Indeed it looked like the Devil himself, but the Doctor wasn't ready to accept that this Nightmare Weam's master was Satan himself, but as he thought about more, the more he thought it could be true. He was facing a demon and wasn't even scared. He was nervous sure, but not scared. He knew he would get through this, but he wasn't sure about Alex.

The Weam sat there sulking in his decaying skin. It was losing and it was not used to losing. It never lost anything that it started. It was no amateur. It fed off of the anxiety and confusion and pain and suffering of the people whose minds it infected. This Alex Russo girl had a guardian angel and a Time Lord who would stop at nothing to save Alex. The Weam was not going to lose.

The Doctor looked at the sulking Weam and thought to himself that he was in a battle between an angel and a demon. The woman had to an angel. If the Weam was a demon like creature and it was losing, the other had to be an angel because of its power against the Weam. He had to find out and he felt in his gut that he was about to.

***

"What do you mean show me the truth?" asked Alex.

"None of this is real, Alex Russo," said the blonde.

"It looks real and feels real to me," said Alex.

"This is all a dream, a nightmare," said the woman.

"Do _me_ a favor before you continue," said Alex, "Tell me your name."

The blonde woman looked at Alex, "Fair enough. My name is Ashton."

"Ashton," said Alex, "That's a good name."

"Thank you," Ashton replied.

"You can go on now," said Alex, looking at her frozen family.

"Okay," Ashton continued, "This is all a nightmare. This all part of a design created by a creature called a Nightmare Weam."

"What's a Nightmare Weam?" asked Alex, "I've never heard of it at all."

"It's basically a demon," said Ashton bluntly.

"WHAT!? Are you saying I have a demon in my head?" asked Alex, panicking.

"Yes, but I'm here," said Ashton, "I'm what you could call your guardian angel."

"What!? You're an angel?" asked Alex.

"Yes," said Ashton, "I'm fighting the fight for you and the Nightmare Weam is losing. It's pawns and soldiers have failed and it's going to come attack you itself. I'll hold it off. The Doctor is here and he has to get to you. When he does, you can ride his mind out of this nightmare. As soon as you wake up, the Nightmare Weam will burn and die. If it doesn't burn and die, I will kill it myself. The Bad Wolf has given me the power to kill Nightmare Weam's and other agents of the Beast."

Alex couldn't and didn't know what to say next.

"I can kill the Weam now, but it could permanently damage your mind and that is what I'm here to prevent. I'm going to go and release the Doctor in a few minutes, but there are a few things about your real world that you need to know."

"What?" asked Alex.

"For one, Justin and Harper will always get married no matter what," said Ashton, "They will have four children. Two girls and then two boys. You and the Doctor will be together forever even through death and regeneration. And that's all I should reveal anyway."

"Oh that's all," said Alex.

"Yes," said Ashton.

"Wait you said that this Nightmare Weam will attack when you leave," said Alex, "If you leave and it attacks me, I'll be helpless."

"I'm sorry Alex, but you are bait to get that monster out of hiding," said Ashton, "As soon as the Doctor is freed, I will return." Ashton raised both her hands and two wolves appeared by her sides. "Wolves of Light, protect Alex Russo until I return with the Lord of Time."

The two white wolves howled in acknowledgment. Ashton vanished in a white flash of smoke. The wolves laid down on each side of Alex. All of the family was frozen still and Alex didn't like that. It was kind of weird.

***

"She left the little female," said the Weam.

"What are you talking about?" asked the Doctor.

The Weam didn't answer and vanished in black smoke.

A blast of white light flashed right after the Weam left and the blonde woman appeared. The Doctor was astounded at who he saw.

"Ashton," he said in disbelief.

"Good to see you again, Doctor," Ashton replied.

***

A puff of black smoke appeared in the same room as Alex and the Wolves of Lights. The Nightmare Weam finally was in the same room as Alex. Alex recognized the Nightmare Weam as the decaying face she had seen before she had gone to eat with her family.

"Oh my God," she said.

"Believe me, God has nothing to do with me," said the Weam. It raised its hand, ready to blast Alex away. The Wolves of Light moved in front of Alex, ready to tear the Nightmare Weam apart. Alex stood powerless and full of fear in the same room with forces of good and evil.


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

The Wolves of Light snarled and growled at the Nightmare Weam. The Weam didn't care to notice the two wolves and he charged Alex. One of the wolves smashed into the Nightmare Weam sending it crashing through one of the walls. Alex heard a whimper as the wolf was thrown into the other wall. Alex backed away to far wall, away from the debris flying around. Alex looked around and saw that her family was still frozen and unmoved. As the debris flew, it went right through the family as is they were holograms.

***

"You're dead," said the Doctor looking at Ashton.

"Oh, hi, I'm glad to see you too," mocked Ashton, "Couldn't you have said that instead of 'You're dead'?"

"I'm sorry but you are dead," replied the Doctor.

"Hey, I can leave you chained there, you know," said Ashton.

"I know, but you won't," said the Doctor, "I know you and you wouldn't do that."

Ashton put her head down and looked him, moving her lips to the right, "Yeah, you're right." Ashton waved her hand and the chains vanished.

The Doctor crashed on the floor and moaned as he got up, "You could have stopped me from crashing."

"Yeah, I know, but I didn't feel like it," smirked Ashton.

"You always had a mean streak, didn't you?" asked the Doctor.

Ashton nodded, "Yeah I did, didn't I? Well any way get here and save Alex."

"Get where?" the Doctor asked just before Ashton touched his head with her index and middle fingers on her right hand. His head hurt as the directions were burned into his head, "Ow! What was that?"

"The directions are burned in your head," said Ashton, "Use your mind as a link to get her out of this nightmare."

"How can I do that?" asked the Doctor.

"Alex's mind is too weak to ride out of this place, yours is not. I can't use my mind because as soon as you and Alex leave the creature will follow you. I will be there to stop it and destroy it. You have to be out of here when I blast it," said Ashton.

"Okay, I'll do it," said the Doctor, "Working together for one last time."

"And this time no death. How does that sound?" asked Ashton.

"Very, very good," said the Doctor. Before he left, he kissed Ashton goodbye, "I'll get her out of here."

Ashton closed her eyes and was in a moment of bliss after the Doctor kissed her and left.

***

The Doctor ran with Olympic speed as he made his way to the mansion. The ground in front of him rose up and exploded. The Doctor stopped dead in his tracks and blocked debris from flying into his face. He put his hands down and as the dust settled, he was scared at what he saw.

"You are the Doc-tor! EX-TER-MI-NATE!" shouted the Dalek.

"This isn't real. It's only in a mind, so I can stop it," the Doctor told himself. He shut his eyes and concentrated as hard as he could. He opened his eyes and the Dalek was just statue,

"That's not what I intended, but it works."

The mansion was in sight and the Doctor saw clouds circling above. Funnel clouds swarmed around the area surrounding the massive house. Flashes of lightening struck the ground all around the house.

"I swear if I get hit again, I will be very upset," said the Doctor before bolting off again.

Creatures the Doctor fought in his past rose up all around him, but the Doctor didn't even bother to look at them. He ran until he was smashed in the face by plank of wood. He was thrown down the ground. Splinters of wood were all over his face. His nose was broken and bleeding. He looked up and saw who smashed him in the face. His face went white. This was going to be harder to stop than all the others.

***

The Doctor's head jerked up and his body stood up straight before falling on his back in the Russo's loft. He was still unconscious, and his nose was bleeding.

"What's going on in there?" asked Theresa.

"I have no idea," said Jerry, "Let's hope he can stop it."

"But it looks like he's not doing so good right now," said Justin.

"Justin, hush," snapped Harper.

"Yes, Justin, hush," a woman's voice told them.

All four of them turned to see a blonde woman standing there.

"Who are you?" asked Justin.

"My name is Ashton," she answered, "What I'm going to tell you is incredibly important."

"What is it?" asked Jerry.

"There is a war going on in you daughter's head," said Ashton, "Between good and evil."

***

"That is impossible! You are trapped inside the Time Lock," said the Doctor in panic.

"Oh yes you left me there," said the man standing there with the remains of the wooden plank, "Actually you are the reason I was trapped in there. I was sentenced to rot in that place, and you just waltzed right out of that mansion and left me. You didn't even try to save me."

"There was nothing I could have done," said the Doctor standing up, "Your body was torn open and you were dying."

"Yet you could have tried. Did you even notice that I have regenerated?"

"Yes, I did, but I still recognize you," said the Doctor, "But it doesn't matter, you are not real. You are just a creature of this nightmarish place."

"Oh I _am_ very real, Doc."

"No your not," said the Doctor, "And call me Doctor not Doc."

"Then use my name!"

"Master," said the Doctor, "You are the Master and you are just part of this landscape."

"No, I am not," the man before the Doctor changed into someone else.

"What? What's going on?" asked the Doctor.

"Hey, Doctor, how's your chest?"

The Doctor felt a searing pain in his chest and doubled over.

"Hurts, don't it."

"Rickter," said the Doctor.

"It's War Horse!" snapped the person in front of the Doctor.

"What are you?" asked the Doctor, "You seem different."

"That's because I am," the man said. He changed again and this time he was wearing a Nazi officer's uniform, "Well hello Doctor, do you know me?"

"War Chief? What's going on here!?" said the Doctor standing up to face the man.

"Nothing really, we're just having a fun game," said the now War Chief.

"Who are you? And get away from me!" snapped the Doctor.

"NO! I will not get away from you. I have been with you for ages. I have been festering and fuming and now I can show myself."

"What are you talking about?" asked the Doctor.

"This," the man said as he changed again into his final form.

"Oh my God," said the Doctor as the man standing in front of him was himself, "What?"

***

"Good vs. Evil insider her head?" asked Justin.

"Yes," said Ashton, "I am here to tell you that everything will be okay."

"How can we know?" asked Justin, "And what are you?"

"An angel of the Bad Wolf," said Ashton, "I was sent to protect Alex and the Doctor."

"That's great but what's going on in there?" asked Jerry.

"I already told you," said Ashton.

"Listen here Blondie, I don't care who or what you are. If my daughter is in danger, I want to know by what," rattled Theresa.

Ashton raised her arm and waved her hand. Theresa fell into a chair, asleep. "Sleep little girl," said Ashton.

"Hey! What did you..." Ashton was gone before Jerry could finish his sentence.

"Believe in the Doctor. He will be the one to save your daughter. I will be the one who kills the demon like creature in here mind," Ashton's voice echoed throughout the Russo home.

"So I guess we just have to wait," stated Justin.

"Yeah, I guess so," said Jerry.

***

Alex was watching as the wolves and the Nightmare Weam continued to duke it out in the mansion. She had looked outside at the storm brewing. She was growing more and more scared with each passing moment. She looked outside again and saw the Doctor standing in the distance. No, she saw two Doctors facing each other. "What is going on?" asked Alex, "There's two of them."

***

"What are you?" asked the Doctor, "You're just part of the Nightmare Weam's design, aren't you?"

"I am part of no one's design," said the Evil Doctor.

"Then who are you?" asked the Doctor.

"Isn't it obvious," the Evil Doctor stated, "I am you."

"What are you talking about?"

"I am you inner evil. I am your inner darkness. I have been inside you since as early as your unstable sixth incarnation. I kept growing and growing inside of you, but you kept pushing me aside, trying not to believe that I was there, but I was. I was so pushed and beaten by you, that I thought I would be destroyed, but then it came. The War. That's what really fed me."

"What are you talking about?" asked the Doctor.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about Killer of Your Own Kind!" snapped the Dark Doctor, "You haven't told them yet, have you?"

"No and they don't need to know," said the Doctor.

"You don't think they need to know what you did? Or how the Time War actually ended? You seriously don't think they deserve to know that the man they are letting stay in their sub station is a mass murderer."

"That was war! I had to stop it or the Universe would be destroyed. You know that," said the Doctor.

"I know that, but the guilt and pain and loss you felt fed me. They should know that over 15 million ships were on fire, that billions of lives, that two almighty civilizations were burning because of you. You committed two mass genocides and ended the War. They should know that you are as evil as the Daleks you tried to fight."

"I did all that to save the Universe from total and inevitable destruction," pleaded the Doctor, "And will you leave me alone?"

"No I won't because I am not anywhere or any part of this place. As I have already told you, I am inside you. I am your darkness. I am your inner demon that you will have to come to terms with. You will have to come to terms with me or be consumed by me!"

"NO! I WILL NOT BE CONSUMED BY YOU!" shouted the Doctor at the top of his lungs.

The Evil Doctor screamed before bursting into flames and vanishing.

The Doctor's face was healed. All of the splinters and the broken nose were gone. There was still blood on his face however. That didn't matter. All that did was saving Alex, but the Doctor knew that what he heard from his evil self was true. He had to tell the Russos what he did in the Time War.

With that thought in his head, the Doctor continued to make his way towards the mansion with the massive storm growing above the building. He hoped Ashton would get there in time.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

The Doctor ran into the mansion and followed the sounds of the crashing and banging. He ran into the hallway outside the room where Alex was hiding. He ran down the hallway and was nearly taken out by a wolf that came crashing through a wall right in front of his. He looked in the whole and saw the other wolf pounce on the Nightmare Weam. The Doctor felt a rush of cool air blast by his head and saw the other Wolf of Light join back in the fray.

The took the opportunity and ran out of the battle arena and found the door, or what was left of it, to the room where Alex was staying out of the way. He pushed the door open and it fell off the hinges and crashed to the ground. He saw Alex on the ground underneath a window, hiding her face.

Alex heard the door crash on the ground and didn't want to move. She just knew this was the end of her. She finally lost to the Nightmare Weam, but then why did she keep hearing that decaying monster fight the wolves. Whoever was in the room walked over to her and crouched down to her level.

"Alex, it's okay. I'm here."

Alex recognized the voice and looked up. She saw the Doctor there, staring at her. "Thank God you're here. You are here aren't you?"

"Yes, it's really me," said the Doctor.

Alex grabbed him in a bear hug and wouldn't let go for the longest time.

A Wolf of Light crashed behind the Doctor, cutting off the hug. The Doctor stood up and turned to face the Nightmare Weam, this time free. The two wolves moved behind the Doctor, but in front of Alex.

The Nightmare Weam thought about rushing the Doctor, but the fury and rage in the Doctor's eyes made it think twice. The Doctor smiled as he realized what he could do in this place. This was a mind game and he was an expert, if not the best, at mind games.

"Doctor," drooled the Weam, "I see you've escaped my chains."

"I had help," replied the Doctor.

"From the blonde abomination," said the Weam.

"Her name is Ashton and not the Blonde Abomination!" snapped the Doctor.

"I sense you were close to her at one point," said the Weam.

The Doctor didn't answer. He just glared at the Weam. Alex gave the Doctor a look that demanded answers. The wolves on guard ready to pounce the Weam at any minute.

"I am right aren't I?" asked the Weam

"Yes, you are," said the Doctor, "Now enough of your talking about whatever you want to talk about. Tell me why I saw myself out there and why was it so hard to get rid of!"

"I don't know what you are talking about," said the Weam

"Yes, you do! You have to," worried the Doctor.

"No, I have no idea what you are talking about. It is not of my design."  
The Doctor ran and grabbed the Weam. He slammed it against a wall that was not falling over by the earlier fighting. "YOU HAVE TO KNOW!"

The Doctor's face went wild and looked like he was ready to pound the Nightmare Weam's face. That's then the Nightmare Weam figured it out. "Oh, I see. This place I created can cause your greatest nightmares and fears come true. Your greatest fear is nothing I could reproduce. One of you is too much, but two of you. I would not be able to control you two at all. Your biggest fear is yourself. You are afraid of what you might do if you lose control and your darkness runs wild. You are a monster down inside. You hide behind that infectious smile and your charismatic attitude and your carefree attitude. You can always make people better, but it makes you sick inside that you cannot change _yourself_ for the better. One day you will have to come to terms with your own darkness and inner demon or you _will_ be consumed by it."

The Doctor dropped the Nightmare Weam and turned to face Alex. Her face was scared and sad. "Alex, I'm sorry."  
"So it's true," said the Weam, "I see I've hit a string. It's true isn't it. There is a monster inside." The Weam looked at the Doctor and noticed something it hadn't before. "Or has it already left you. I see that there is something missing from you. I see a chunk of you missing, Doctor. You don't seem whole."

"That part of me is no longer inside. That man is not brewing or boiling inside of me anymore," said the Doctor, barely turning his head towards the Weam.

"You're not afraid of yourself. You are afraid of the man that came out of you, and you are afraid of what he might do to your loved ones if he ever returned."

"He's gone!" said the Doctor, "Trapped forever in the Time Matrix on Gallifrey, which is trapped inside the Time Lock. There is NO way that he is coming back."

"Van Statten's Dalek, the Dalek Emperor, the Cult of Skaro, the Master, Davros, the War Chief, the Daughter of Gallifrey - who remains a mystery, the Time Lords led by Rassilon, and yourself have all escaped the Time Lock. Although, I do give the Time Lords led by Rassilon. You did send them back into the Time Lock."

"And the Master went with them," added the Doctor.

"Yes, but he can ride his own time stream out of the Time Lock," said the Weam, "If he can, then your evil self can follow _your_ time stream out so I'd be careful."

"What ever you say," the Doctor hissed as he clenched his fists. The Doctor looked at the two Wolves of Light, who were now lying down, and told them, "Hey wolves."

The wolves stood up and listened to the Doctor.

"Sick him and have no mercy!" ordered the Doctor.

The wolves snarled and the Nightmare Weam tensed up, ready for another smack down. Time slowed down as the two wolves ran past the Doctor. He turned around just in time to see the wolves smash into the Nightmare Weam and all three vanish in a blazing white light.

The Doctor turned around and Alex was up against the back wall again, speechless. The Doctor walked over to her and smiled at her.

"Doctor," said Alex, "Was what that thing said true."

"Yes, I did have a monster inside of me, but he's gone now. I promise you," said the Doctor as he grabbed Alex's hands.

Alex didn't pursue the matter any further and she pulled her hands of his and threw herself on him, sobbing. "I thought I would never see you again. I thought that I was going to have to live here for the rest of my life and I thought I was going to die. I just want to go home."

"That's why I'm here," said the Doctor, "I am here to get you home, Alex. You are going to have to let your mind enter mine while Ashton can destroy the Nightmare Weam. When she does that you can reenter your mind and everything will be back to normal."

"I'd like that," said Alex, ending the hug, "But there is one thing I'd like to do first. I know those people are not my family, but I want them to know you and you to tell them that you are going to end this nightmare, that you are going to end Nightmare's Reign."

"Ooooh, I like that," said the Doctor, "Nightmare's Reign."

"Thanks, but how do I unfreeze them?" As soon as she finished that, they were unfrozen.

"Alex!" said Theresa.

"What happened here?" asked Justin.

"A battle between good and evil," said the Doctor.

"Who are you?" asked Jerry.

"I'm the Doctor, simply the Doctor."

"So you're the man who changed Alex," said Harper, "She said you saved the city where you came from. What about this place?"

"I'll save it. It's what I do," smiled the Doctor. He noticed that Harper was pregnant and smiled even more, "Oh, how nice is that! Who's the father?"

"I am," said Justin, "We got married not long after the world went to Hell. That's our third child."

"That's great," said the Doctor, "Well, I would stay and talk a little longer, but I have to go and get Alex out of here and put her back in her own reality."

The Doctor turned to go to Alex when a hand grabbed his arm. The Doctor turned and saw Jerry there, "I don't know who you are, but take care of my little girl. She likes you a lot and looks up to you. Don't break her heart."

"Believe me, Mr. Russo, I have had my hearts broken enough to know that no one should have to have their heart broken," said the Doctor.

"Thank you," said Jerry, "Did you say 'hearts'?"

"Another time maybe. We have to get out of here," said the Doctor, "I'll see you around."

The Doctor turned around again and walked over to Alex, "Alex, close your eyes and keep your mind clear. This is going to be a bumpy ride. When I say don't look, do not look. Every order I tell you when you are inside my mind, listen. If you don't, you might have your mind fry and you will die."

Alex nodded in understanding.

"Are you ready?" asked the Doctor.

"Yes, I am," said Alex, closing her eyes.

The Doctor put his hands on her temples and put his forehead on hers. In the split second before the jump into the Doctor's mind, Alex smiled and enjoyed every bit of that split second. The two of them vanished and the Russos all looked around in disbelief.

The room grew dark and the Nightmare Weam returned, but couldn't sense Alex and the Doctor any where. The Russos all looked in horror as they saw the decaying creature standing in the room with them.

"Where are they?" asked the Weam, "Where are they?"  
"Safe and sound," Ashton's voice hovered in the room, "They are gone and that gives me all I need to completely destroy you for good."

White mist appeared in the room and turned into smoke before assembling itself into Ashton. "As a Disciple of the Light, I hereby destroy you from all of Creation."

"Oh no," the Nightmare Weam whimpered. Ashton raised her hands and shot a blinding white light at the Nightmare Weam. It struck it and the creature burst into flames and vanished, howling in pain and anguish the whole time.

The world outside grew lighter and revealed it was the middle of the day. A wave of energy raced across the world and the entire Earth was healed. People and all other life that was lost returned to normal, the way it was those twelve years ago. The Russos were teleported back to the Waverly Sub Station.

"What happened?" asked Harper.

"This world was a reality bubble created by that creature. I defeated it, which gave me the right to do with this place as I pleased. I made it another reality, a peaceful reality full of life. I also can bring back loved ones," explained Ashton.

"As much as we love that, I'm sorry, but this is the way life is for us and we have to accept that Alex and Max are both dead, well ours are anyway, but thank you for the offer," replied Jerry.

Ashton nodded, "I understand."

"Besides we still have a family here with us, our son's family," said Jerry, looking over at Justin, Harper and their two daughters, with a third child on the way.

"I know what it is," said Ashton to Harper, "Do you want to know?"

"You know what the baby is?" asked Harper.

"Yes," said Ashton.

Harper turned to Justin, "Do you want to know what it is or do you want it to be a surprise? The world's back to normal now so there's a good possibility that we'll find out sooner or later."

"Yeah, like when it's born, but yes," said Justin, "I'd like to know what it is."

Harper turned around and told Ashton, "Yes, we'd like to know what it is."  
"It's a boy," said Ashton, "As for the rest of you, it was a pleasure to meet you all, but I've got to get back to the other reality with the Doctor and Alex. So good-bye for now." Ashton vanished in another blast of white smoke.

"The world's back," said Justin, hugging Harper from behind.

"Yeah, I know. What to do? What to do?" replied Harper.

The older Russos nodded in agreement. Their world was back and they had no idea what to do, but they would manage. They would like they had when the world did go to Hell. They had a bright and shining future to look forward to and they loved that.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Alex gasped as she woke up on the Russos' couch, nearly sending everyone in the jumping out of fear. She sat up and her world was spinning. The Doctor moaned as he grabbed his face. He felt something sticky on his face. He took his hand off and looked at it. He was bleed from his nose. That other man he saw was himself and not part of that demented creature's plan or design or whatever it called that terrible place.

"Alex!" said Theresa, jumping up and embracing her daughter. All the others went to Alex and hugged her in relief.

"Oh, I am perfectly fine," said the Doctor jokingly.

As soon as the Doctor got to his feet, Theresa tackled him in a bear hug, "Thank you, thank you, thank you for getting my daughter back to us."  
"Your welcome, but I did have some help," said the Doctor.

"Yes you did," said Ashton, sitting on one of the barstools that was next to the Russos' kitchen island.

"It's you," said Theresa, "You knocked me out."

"Yeah, Ashton does kind of have that effect on people," said the Doctor.

"Oh I do?" asked Ashton, "How do you know that?"

"Because I know you and you did knock me out several times," said the Doctor.

"That's true," said Ashton. She got up and walked over to the Doctor. "God I've missed you!"  
"And I've missed you," replied the Doctor, "By the way, how are you here? Last time I saw you...."

"We kissed and you told me that you loved me and then your hearts got broken," said Ashton, who caught a glare from Alex.

"I know, but you died all those years ago," said the Doctor, "You absorbed the Bad Wolf and died."

"He let me be here and help," said Ashton, "He's not all bad you know. In fact he is not bad at all. He is what the Beast calls the Light."

"I've forgiven him," said the Doctor, "That was centuries ago."  
"Doctor, let's have a goodbye. Not one with death and burning this time. Just a normal good bye."  
"That sounds great Ashton," said the Doctor. The Doctor cleared his throat as the words flowed out, "Ashton, I loved you once to the very core, but now the love had faded. 600 years can do that to you, but you will always hold a special place in my heart as does all of my companions. I do think that you still love me, but it's the same way."

"It is. I did love you with all of my heart, but now after all I have seen and been a part of with the Bad Wolf. I know there is no return for me back here with you. I loved you once as well and you will hold a special place in my heart, but until we meet again, if ever, I want you to know that your future is great. I have seen it. You may have loved me, but your future is even better."  
"I know," replied the Doctor, "I have a bright and shining future now." The Doctor looked at the Russo family and future Russo family member Harper. Alex, however, could have sworn the Doctor's eyes were on her and that his head was just facing them.

The Doctor turned around and grabbed Ashton and embraced her in a hug for one last time. After the hug, the Doctor kissed Ashton on the forehead. He looked at her in the eyes and told her, "Good bye Ashton, good bye."

"Good bye Doctor," said Ashton, "Good bye Russo family, Harper, Alex." With that and a blast of white smoke, Ashton vanished.

"Always dramatic aren't you?" asked the Doctor.

"Oh, shut up," Ashton's voice rang throughout the loft. It was followed by a laugh and then silence.

"Oh, Ashton," said the Doctor, shaking his head. He walked over to the couch and sat down next to Alex.

"I take it you knew here from before the time she was in my head," said Alex.

"Yeah, she was one of my former traveling companions. I gave my thirteenth life for her. Took a sniper bullet to the chest from a madman called Everett Rickter or as he likes to be called, the War Horse."

"So how many days was I out?" asked Alex.

"Days?" asked Theresa, "Honey, it wasn't days."

"It was hours," said Jerry.

"What? How's that possible?" asked Alex.

"Time dilation," said the Doctor, "Dreams can do that to you. What seems like days, weeks, months, maybe even years in you dreams can be only one night's sleep. Weird isn't it?" asked the Doctor.

"Yeah," said Alex, "Even more when it's you having a dream, or a nightmare, like that."

The Doctor got up and saw Harper sitting on one of the orange chairs and Justin standing next to it. He just smiled and walked off to the kitchen area. Alex looked over to those and smiled to before getting up and joining the Doctor.

"So do you think they will figure it out soon?" asked Alex, only to where the Doctor could here.

"Figure what out?" asked the Doctor, knowingly, "That they will get married and have at least three kids and maybe a fourth one." The Doctor waited a few seconds, "No, they don't have a clue, but soon they will. Justin can try to deny it, but he'll come 'round and see that they are meant to be."

"Really?" asked Alex, "How do you know?"

"Because that's happened to me several times, but unlike me, their relationship will prosper and not include the massive heartbreaks I have had," said the Doctor.

"Oh," said Alex, "And by the way, they will have four kids. Two girls and two boys."

"That's great," replied the Doctor, "Well anyway since we are out of 'Nightmare's Reign', why don't we get something to eat. I am starving."

Alex heard and felt her stomach grumble for food too and noticed that she was starving, "That sounds good. Let's see what we can find in the phone book."

"No, lets see what the TARDIS has in her kitchen," said the Doctor, "Are you ready to try an alien dinner."

"What? Are you serious?" asked Alex.

"Is that bad?" asked the Doctor.

"No, that sounds good," said Alex.

"Great, let's go," said the Doctor.

Alex and the Doctor walked towards the stairs and went down into the sandwich shop. They stopped just outside of the TARDIS and the Doctor asked, "Do you want to see something?"

"What?"

"This." The Doctor snapped his fingers and the TARDIS doors flung open.

"Whoa," said Alex.

"I know," said the Doctor, grabbing hold of Alex's hand, "Let's go."

The two ran into the TARDIS and there was the snapping of the Doctor's fingers again and the doors shut. The Nightmare's Reign was finally over.


End file.
